I've been browsing tutorials and searching the forums, and I can't find much help on the topic of FX.

I seem to be missing the logic of FX-
I understand synthesis, I can make good sounds on hardsynths... yet, FX have always escaped me. This really pisses me off because they are instrumental to a "pro" sound, especially with the direction that progressive is taking. Twitchy digital creaks and whirring spacey bleeps are so common to trance music, but I'm not very good at making them from scratch.

Can you guys recommend any tutorials/tips on this? What are your preferred FX VSTs/hardsynths?

Thanks,
Armani

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One always has to remember these days where the garbage pail is, because it's so easy to make sounds, and to put sounds together into something that appears to be music, but it's just as hard as it always was to make good music.
- Robert Moog

I'm a newbie to fx myself but i've discovered that lfo and pitch modulation, + chorus, flanger, reverb and delay can give some crazy results... Not evey fx you hear in professional tracks are handmade tho.. Alot of ppl use samples..

For FX, you've got to get Linplug Albino 2. By far the best synth when it comes to the most crazy FX IMO. There are some good presets inside and by randomizing and tweaking them I get some really nice FX.

Otherwise, some heavy FX like Flanger/Phaser/Timestretching/etc. will help you create your sound. You could try out dblue glitch, it is like all of those in one with a step sequencer, so you can even do some really weird IDMish stuff with it. It's worth a try I'd say.

Other than that, as already mentioned, automation and modulation are the key to FX. Try to pan them, play with the cutoff, or maybe with the pitch.

Good luck!

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Cybernetika albums (free DL): Atropos (2009) | Nanospheric (2008) | Neural Network Expansion (2007) | Promo #1 (2006) | Paralysis (2005)

homepage: http://www.cybernetika.de

Your much better off using samples and effecting them than trying to create a sound from a synth... aside from your swooshes and what not ofcourse. You can try forever trying to get a sound of a VA synth that you can find in seconds if you have a good sample cd. Also, kinda hard to explain, but theres a certain way of working with samples that frees up a lot of your creativity for using fx imho. Ofcourse, it depends on the fx your trying to create but short hits and stabs that are delayed/flanged/etc//.. tend to work best to fill out a track I find.

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